<p>I’m going to state my current situation to give some background information. My questions are in the last paragraph.</p>
<p>So…I’m starting to feel real discouraged. I’m a high school senior and I’m planning to transfer out. I will be attending CUNY Baruch this fall. I initially had this grand plan to get really involved, do everything it takes to be competitive, interesting, and interested (in a college, so I can translate it into some “why” essay) because I want to transfer to a top school. I envisioned everything as practical and possible albeit hard for one to accomplish.</p>
<p>I feel like I’m capable of doing everything, not only in prospection but in the aftermath; I feel like I could do well in a top school, go to a top graduate school, and do well there. And I believe I truly can. There was never a time where there were academic difficulties for me in high school. I just neglected. I’ve had no leadership positions in high school, and my GPA is horrible. There’s literally nothing on my (freshman) application that would impress any of the schools I want to go to…</p>
<p>So, at this point, I already know that the odds are against me. I know that, applying junior year and looking forward, I can only do better. But what constantly discourages me is the things that are impossible at CUNY. For example, I want to take the hardest classes possible, but not only does CUNY not have much course rigor, but it also does not give underclassmen the top priority in registering for classes.</p>
<p>The more and more I think about it realistically, the more I am discouraged. How will a 4.0 impress a top college if one has only taken general ed. courses? How will I take pre-reqs (for the school to which I will transfer), hard classes, etc., if they are not offered? Will colleges recognize that, or will it inevitably be to my detriment? How do I pursue what I want if it is not offered, and cannot be obtained otherwise? How does one go about getting involved outside of campus academically? (How do people find such impressive ECs?)
As you can see I am quite inquisitive.</p>